Volkswagen is putting it’s own unique spin on a London icon. The VW London Taxi Concept, which is built upon the Up! city car platform, is an electric cab with an estimated range of 186 miles. Though the overall length of 3,730 millimeters means the Taxi concept is shorter than a VW Fox, its minimal front and rear overhang allow for plenty of room to accommodate the driver and two full-size adult passengers plus luggage. Inside, the Volkswagen London Taxi Concept features touchscreen displays that provide information on the surrounding area and the route being traveled.

Since this is just a concept, it doesn’t conform to current London taxi regulations. However, it does provide a glimpse at what the future might hold for emission-free urban transportation choices.Read more…

Numerous studies have shown that the so-called new car smell – which is actually a potent outgassing of volatile organic chemicals and heavy metals – can be potentially dangerous to breathe in, and that some people are more bothered by these VOCs than others.

But could that new car smell be so insidious that it could cause you to lose consciousness long enough that you get into an accident? And if so, could an attorney use such a new car smell defense to ease a client’s legal woes? Sounds a bit odd, but just such a case is currently taking place in Colorado.

Here are the facts: Martin Erzinger, owner of a 2010 Mercedes-Benz sedan (model unknown), fell asleep at the wheel, drifted off the road and struck a bicyclist named Dr. Steven Milo before colliding with a concrete barrier. The unresolved questions are whether Erzinger’s sleep apnea was compounded by his car’s odors, as suggested by a forensic specialist, and if he was aware that he had struck a pedestrian.

Of course, it’s not up to us to decide how guilty or innocent Erzinger may be… we’ll leave that up to the court. But we are curious what you think. Could a particularly noxious new car smell be a contributing factor in an accident?

Nissan is getting to work launching its NV commercial vehicle in the North American market, and prices have just been announced. The body-on-frame NV will be built in Canton, Mississippi and will start at $24,590 for a V6-powered NV with standard roof. A high-roof SV-trim NV 3500 with a 317-hp, 5.6-liter V8 rings up at $32,190.

Nissan’s work van offering joins the ranks of a burgeoning segment populated by vehicles like the Ford Transit Connect, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and even the Dodge Grand Caravan Cargo Van. The only one of those vehicles that approaches the NV’s space is the Sprinter, and Nissan’s muscular V6 and V8 powertrains are brawnier than everyone else. It’s almost enough to make you want to go to work. Almost. Press release posted after the jump.

Volkswagen AG has just issued a recall of nearly 380,000 cars due to the potential for fuel leaks which could lead to a fire. According to The Detroit News, A total of 266,936 Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf and Rabbitmodels from the 2007 to 2009 model years are affected, as well as an additional 110,350 New Beetle models (both hardtop and convertible).

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an official recall bulletin, stating:

“The Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Golf and Rabbit vehicles may have a small plastic tab located on the windshield washer fluid reservoir that may chafe against an underhood fuel supply line. The New Beetle and the New Beetle Convertible vehicles may have a fastening clamp on a hydraulic hose of the power steering system that may be located in an improper position which could cause chafing against an underhood fuel supply line.”

In both instances, chafing could result in a fuel leak, which in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.

NHTSA states that dealerships will either remove the plastic tab from the windshield washer fluid reservoir or, in the case of the New Beetles, inspect the position of the fastening clamp. Either way, the fix won’t cost owners a thing, and the recall is expected to ramp up by the end of January.

Warning: Do not try this at home. As much as we’d love to read you the riot act that contains the rest of the typical automotive video warnings – “professional driver on a closed course,” “no animals or small children were harmed in the making of this video” – well, we’re not entirely sure we can claim any of those things are true.

What we have here is a man and a woman who have apparently taken it upon themselves to exercise their inadvisable right to procreate. Oh, and a baby and a car. We’ll set the scene: Man and baby jointly drive car, on what appears to be a public street in Poland, in traffic. Woman records grainy video, family later uploads results to YouTube.

We’ll be the first to admit that we don’t know how old this video is (it has a recent upload date, but who knows?), but it’s still worth watching. We don’t want to spoil it for the rest for you, so all we’ll say is that you have to watch it all the way through to get the full scope of the awful parenting involved. Click past the breakto see what all the fuss is about… and please, no Polish jokes in the Comments.